billd17

My 93 RSA makes a gurgling noise whenever I'm stopped with the engine idling (well it probably makes the noise when I'm moving too, but I can't hear it above the engine and road noise). It sounds as if water is flowing along the rocker panel under the passenger door.

Has anyone else experienced this? What is causing it? About the only thing running along there are the oil lines to the front oil cooler. Is there an easy way to stop the noise?

Rocket Rob

My car does this when the engine is cold. The sound is the cold oil flowing back into the oil tank. I've found that as soon as the engine warms up and the oil too, the noise disappears.

I'm sure running a lower viscosity oil would reduce the noise but I wouldn't do it.

Arjan B.

The oil circulation is the reason of the noice. When your oil thermostat opens [8 o'clock on the temp. gauge] you will hear the same sort of noice right front, near your right mirror. There was a post about air in the system because of a broken hose connected to the oil tank, but that's a while a go. Please check for sure all your thick hoses which are connected to the tank, if they are ok, no worry, mine makes the same noice.

I think it was Adrain Streather who had the leaking hose, ask him.

billd17

Rob and Arjan, thanks for the clarification. I didn't think oil would sound like that.

I have a related question about my oil gauges. The temperature gauge on my RSA never gets to 8 o'clock. Even after hard driving it stays at about 7:30. Is this normal? Since the gauge doesn't have numbers on it, its hard to interpret what a given position means.

Also the oil-level gauge reads empty except at idle with the car hot when it reads about right. Is this normal?

The pressure gauge seems to do the right thing. Its at 5 most of the time and drops to 3 at hot idle. Does anyone know what these numbers mean?

robmug

Billd17

It's all fairly normal - these 964s are not like ordinary cars!

Dry sump oil system means oil level will only be accurate with engine (oil) hot, at idle, with the car on level ground.

Oil pressure is too, I believe, affected by dry sump system, and as such will vary. Number on the gauge refer to 'bar' (ie unit of pressure) and the figures you stated are fine. 3 at hot idle is higher than mine...

garrett376

Here in Southern Cal., my temp gauge is like your gauge - mine has yet to reach the first big mark at 8 o'clock even after a lot of spirited driving on a warm day, and will probably never reach the next mark up at 10 o'clock! That's a good thing - I'd rather have it cool than running hot; and I've got my engine cover installed (shoot me, I know!).

2-3 on the pressure gauge at idle is where mine is at when warm, or course. It's at 4.5 bar at speed. Empty oil level when driving is where mine is always at - seem silly to make a gauge that spends most of its time on empty, but that's supposedly normal!

Arjan B.

All the data you tell us is normal. The oil level gauge will only come up with a warm engine. If this gauge goes up with a cold engine, you have too much oil in the system.

springer3

I have the gurgling sound, and I like it. It says there is serious business going on back there.

I agree the gage is not thought out properly. Early 911's level gages indicated low when the car was cold, and about mid range when hot, but you always had an indication as soon as the scavenging pump got the oil back in the tank after start-up.